Summary

Thomas Purcell of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants has followed up on prior AICPA comments on guidance on spousal election rights and charitable remainder trusts by suggesting that future guidance on the matter be published in proposed form to give practitioners an opportunity to comment.

On behalf of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants, we are writing to express our appreciation that the Service has responded to our concerns -- as described in our attached June 8, 2005, letter -- about the spousal waiver requirement for charitable remainder trusts in Rev. Proc 2005-24, 2005-16 I.R.B. 909, and has suspended this requirement by issuing Notice 2006-15, 2006-8 I.R.B. 1. We also appreciate that the Service and Treasury Department adopted our recommendation to apply the Rev. Proc. 2005-24 safe harbor for trusts created prior to June 28, 2005, to all charitable remainder trusts regardless of creation date, at least while the issue is being studied further. Because a spousal waiver requirement could potentially affect all charitable remainder trusts, we suggest that any future guidance in this area be published in proposed form, thereby allowing practitioners an opportunity to comment on its feasibility before it becomes effective.

The AICPA is the national, professional association of CPAs, with approximately 350,000 members, including CPAs in business and industry, public practice, government, and education; student affiliates; and international associates. Our members advise clients on federal, state, and international tax matters, and prepare income and other tax returns for millions of Americans. Our members provide services to individuals, not-for-profit organizations, small and medium-sized businesses, as well as America's largest businesses.

We welcome the opportunity to meet with you to discuss potential proposed solutions, our thoughts, experiences and comments further with you or others at the IRS and Treasury Department. Please contact me at (402) 280-2062, or tpurcell@creighton.edu; Steve Thorne, Chair of the AICPA Trust, Estate, and Gift Tax Technical Resource Panel, at (312) 486-9847, or stethorne@deloitte.com; Russell Sanders, Chair of the CRT Task Force, at (410) 454-5979 or russell.t.sanders@citigroup.com; or Eileen Sherr, AICPA Technical Manager at (202) 434-9256, or esherr@aicpa.org.